


Work smart not hard

by Dandalftheblonde



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV), Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, I sort of really hate Twilight sometimes, M/M, This is just pointing the middle finger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 20:02:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20431646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandalftheblonde/pseuds/Dandalftheblonde
Summary: Edward always underestimated Bella. She figured out what he was, what if she was a hell of a lot smarter and a hell of a lot more connected with the supernatural than she let on. She wasn't stupid, she knew how much of a target she was to the supernatural. she just could never resist it when it came calling





	Work smart not hard

1996  
“Daddy! I have to be back at school by 2 today! Hurry up!” an incredibly excited Isa shouted as she ran through the boarding house with two of her smallest bags as Zach carried the big ones down the stairs.  
“Isa, you are 9, you should not be this excited for school” Zach laughed as Isa stopped briefly to pick up her favourite book.  
“But I get to start advanced chemistry this semester daddy, if I pass this I get to learn with the college professors next semester” Isa wattled on as she once again checked all the bags surrounding her. By the time she was 5, Zach and Renee had realised their child was a genius and they had reluctantly sent her to a specialist boarding school that catered to her needs. It was a world class institute that encouraged accelerated learning while keeping their students in their own age cohort to support their emotional development. Renee had since moved out of Mystic falls and remarried a man called Charlie, who Zach was relieved to find out did not judge Renee for her teen pregnancy and had bonded with Isa over her summer breaks every year.   
In many ways Zach considered Isa and Renee incredibly lucky, having moved out of Mystic falls at least temporarily had spared them when Stefan and Damon had arrived to town a couple of years ago, and boy was he glad that Renee had told him to not tell his uncles about his ex-girlfriend and older daughter after the mess they had left behind. Despite this he still taught Isa emergency vampire protocol, to hid in a vervain safe room in case they ever showed their faces again. He did not need Isa to be put in danger by their ancestors.   
“Daddy, there’s someone at the door, should I tell them that we have to go in 5 minutes and to go?” Isa asked from the foyer a few seconds before the doorbell rang. His daughter and ex-girlfriend’s six-sense always unnerved him, when Renee had first moved to mystic falls he even asked the Bennet’s whether they should worry about the new comers and that woman had just smiled at him as if he were paranoid. He supposes he was in a way, he had just found out the family secret and was constantly looking over his shoulder. That fear did not stop him from his whirlwind high school romance with Renee though, and that resulted in his little ray of sunshine that was currently opening the door to tell a complete stranger to, in effect bugger off so she could go to boarding school.  
“Hello Sir, I’m afraid despite what the sign says, we are no longer a boarding house and we are just on our way to the airport” Isa explained to the man, or technically teenager, that was standing on the other side of the door.  
“that’s alright little miss, I’m actually here to see Zach Salvatore, is he in?” Zach heard Stefan ask politely from the other side of the door.   
“What are you doing here Stefan?” Zach asked in alarm as his heart rate spiked and he turned to see Stefan on the other side of the door. So many scenarios crossed his mind as he saw Stefan standing unassumingly in front of his daughter, who was far too curious for her own good. He saw her life flash before his eyes and adrenaline started pumping through his veins as he tried to decide what to do. He saw Stefan wince as he scrunched his eyes and nose, hinting that Zach should definitely calm down if Stefan could smell the change in his blood stream.   
“I came to apologise for the other year, Damon has lost track of me and I am now safe to help you in case of future problems, I won’t stay long, just to give you a heads up” Stefan explained as he stood there awkwardly holding a box.  
“GO upstairs and play” Stefan spoke softly as he looked into Isa’s eyes, his pupils dilated, and Zach knew immediately that he was compelling his daughter.  
“No, if you must talk to daddy, it will be on the way to the airport, I need to get back to school” Isa snapped, picking up her bag and heading out to the car.   
“Your daughter?” Stefan asked curiously and with a level of dread that Zach was not expecting.  
“Yes, a high school thing, we’re just on the way to boarding school, and if you tell anyone, especially Damon about this I will not rest till I kill you” Zach snapped as he stepped out of the house and locked the door behind him, gesturing towards the car.  
“She can’t be compelled Zach, care to explain?” Stefan asked as he picked up one of Isa’s bags to help.  
“Probably her mother’s side of the family, they have this six-sense, probably protects them from compulsion. There are things that even you don’t know about Stefan, just leave her alone” Zach demanded as they loaded the bags into the trunk as Isa climbed into the back of the car with a book.  
“You know, Damon and I had a younger sister, your great something Grandmother, she lived and died a human, Damon never came back, but I did, we still loved each other like siblings, and she is the reason the Salvatore’s remain in Mystic falls, protecting humans from the worst of our impulses, she never condemned a vampire for turning, but for what they did afterwards. Let me get to know and protect my niece, I’ll make sure Damon never knows about her” Stefan pleaded as they closed the trunk of the car. Zach took Stefan in slowly, as he weighed up the risks of Stefan getting to know his daughter  
“She’s a certified genius, she will find out what you are Stefan, make sure she knows what to do to protect herself, I know I won’t be able to stop you, but if any harm comes to her, I’ll tear you to pieces trying to kill you” Zach threatened. Stefan knew Zach was not a violent man by nature, so took the threat with a certain level of gravity and nodded.  
“That’s why I came here. Come on, I’ll explain in the car” Stefan offered as he picked up his box and walked to the passenger side door. Curiously, Zach moved to start the car. Stefan explained briefly the nature of vampires to Isa in the first few minutes of the car ride.  
“What are your weaknesses? Nothing is indestructible” Isa asked simply as Stefan finished, her scientific mind whirring, Zach could almost hear it turning.  
“A wooden stake to the heart, and vervain burns us, we also burn in the sun if we don’t have these magic rings” Stefan explained simply as he offered his outstretched hand to Isa, who examined the ring curiously.  
“Vervain?” Isa asked curiously, eyeing the vampire suspiciously.  
“It’s a rare plant, a witch would be able to explain why it hurts us better than I would, but I managed to find one for you, plant it in the gardens, you can consume it in liquid form or keep clippings in jewellery, I know your normal supply was destroyed.” Stefan continued to explain as they made their way onto the highway. Isa was fascinated with all that she was learning, and Zach was watching her suspiciously.  
“Isa, this has to remain a secret, no one can know about this, ok?” Zach interrupted as he saw his little girl’s brain start to pick apart and analyse all that she was learning.  
“Ok, but daddy, if it’s a secret wouldn’t it be better to grow the plant in the basement with lights like in a laboratory?” Isa asked as she started turning over the new information.  
“Uncle Stefan? When I start learning the chemistry in blood, would I be able to look at yours? Only to see how it’s different” Isa assured her new found relative as she took out a book and started writing notes.  
“studying vampires is a very slippery slope Isa, most are suspicious of scientists meddling in their lives” Stefan warned the curious nine-year-old in the back seat.  
“why would I meddle? I only want to know the differences, you’re still a human, if a sub-species at the very least” Isa commented as she wandered off into her own mind while writing and theorising on the nature of this new thing.  
“She’s a special type of girl, almost too good and trusting if you ask me” Zach grumbled as he saw Stefan trying to grapple with what Isa said, a foreboding coming over him.  
“Isa, some vampires are incredibly dangerous, they might hurt you if given the chance” Stefan spoke up, worried that Isa’s scientific mind would miss the danger of the discussion they had just had.  
“Humans are dangerous too, we just covered world war 2 in history, what men did in the name of science was horrific. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to keep safe uncle Stefan” Isa replied simply as she turned a page and started drawing instead. Her mind worked so quickly she often had to resort to drawing in order to slow down, one of her teachers suggested it last year, it helped when she started getting headaches and she found she liked it immensely.   
Later that day Zach and Stefan waved Isa off at the airport, she was accompanied by an airhostess and would be picked up by a teacher on the other end.  
“If you must see her, I’ll add you to her visitor list at school, a school of geniuses is not an easy place to break into. Thank you, Stefan, for the heads up, but you can’t be seen in Mystic falls again for a while” Zach spoke up as he watched his daughter disappear.  
“She can’t either, despite how safe it might seem now, Mystic falls is still a danger magnet, she should stay with her mother, you go to her instead of vice versa, the town will forget about her eventually, less chance of Damon, or anyone else for that matter, finding out about her” Stefan tried to explain softly as he eventually turned to his very angry descendant.   
“Zach, the compulsion thing is more serious than you might think, talk to the mother, she should be in the loop, but no one else. I’ll check in on her every now and then, make sure she doesn’t crop up on anyone’s radar” Stefan offered as he looked his nephew up and down.

Present day

“Uncle Stefan, I’ll be fine. Forks is where Charlie lives, besides I haven’t had the normal high school experience in a while. Marie and I decided to pursue our PhD’s when we were 14, that’s three years I’ve been out of the school system. I spoke with my old boarding school, they’ve agreed to give an edited transcript to Forks High. Anyway, how is the new diet going? Was I right? A half and half diet doing you good?” Isa asked as she sat on her bed in Phoenix with her bags packed around her.  
“Yes, it’s working very well, now you will call me if anything comes up over there?” Stefan asked nervously as he listened to Isa over the phone. Mobile phones were a godsend. As soon as Isa was allowed to have her own phone, he made sure she kept a second one to call him on. It was used for keeping in contact with him and emergencies only as she kept it hidden from almost everyone else.  
“Of course. I’m even thinking of flying under the radar, no genius child in Forks” Isa chuckled as she picked up her journal from her bedside draw and started writing an update on Stefan’s diet. She wrote it in an unknown Asian language that she had studied on holiday one year. She still kept in contact with a couple of friends there, and it proved most useful when studying vampires. It helped her that she had such an indulgent subject, whenever she asked Stefan if he would be willing to undergo certain experiments, he was always eager to learn what she was looking at. She and Stefan had learnt quite a bit about the inner workings of Vampire kind over the years, which in turn helped Stefan control his bloodlust. Something that Isa was incredibly proud of.  
“So, you’re not going to be Isabella Dwyer-Salvatore: Child Genius in Forks? How, pray tell are you going to manage that?” Stefan asked as he laughed aloud at the antics of his favourite relative, though he would never tell Zach that of course.  
“I am Bella Swan quiet but beloved step-daughter of Charlie Swan moved to Forks after her mother decided to tour the world with her boyfriend” Isa announced as if she were at a carnival.   
“Renee decided to tour the world 5 years ago Isa, you’ve been with her for many of her trips” Stefan admonished jokingly.  
“They don’t know that; besides, I don’t want to explain that I’m just attending school for shits and giggles” Isa huffed, despite knowing Stefan was joking. They found that it was much easier to communicate now that they were similar ages and were more like best friends than distant uncle and niece.   
“How is Sarah now?” Isa mumbled, knowing that the conversation was winding to an end as she was leaving in 10 minutes. Stefan had confided his secret to her last year, and Isa though conflicted as to what to think about the circumstances of her half-sister’s concealment, kept Stefan’s secret and asked after her as much as possible.   
“She’s starting high-school soon, she’s smart, might get bumped up a year, wonder where she gets that from” Stefan spoke softly.  
“love you uncle Stefan. Give my love to Dad next time you see him” Isa said before they both hung up.  
“Forks here I come” Isa grumbled as her spirits fell slightly.  
“I’ll give this to you one-day Sarah, you will not walk this world alone, love you” Isa whispered as she clutched a necklace in deep thought.  
With that, Isa carried her bags downstairs. It felt almost reminiscent of the day she met Stefan. Renee always told Isa to trust her six-sense, and it was telling her that something big was waiting for her in Forks  
“Grab life by the horns and don’t forget to bring the popcorn Isa” Isa mumbled her mother’s motto to herself as she left.

Forks  
“Hey Isa, how was the flight?” Charlie asked as he greeted her at the airport.  
“Good, this might sound crazy, but mum thought it’d be a laugh, and I’d be more comfortable” Isa started to ramble as she headed out to the car with Charlie when he took one of her bags.  
“Spit it out Isa, we can’t both have news that takes the entire trip to explain.” Charlie chuckled as he watched his step-daughter blush with awkward embarrassment  
“Well, I sort of wanted to fly under the radar while here, so we’re sort of keeping the genius thing under wraps as well as the Dwyer-Swan-Salvatore thing” Isa word vomited as they sat down in the car. Charlie sat there for 5 minutes with the key waiting in the ignition in order to process what Isa had just said.   
“Well that simplifies my news then” Charlie exhaled as he turned the key and pulled out to drive to the rainy town of Forks.  
“What news? Has Forks changed since last time I visited?” Isa laughed. She pulled out her ever-present journal to start writing down ideas she had on the plane that she could not commit to paper in front of strangers as it involved complex equations that she promised her professor she would work on while away, it was for an experimental drug for the military. True to her word when she was 9, Isa never experimented or meddled with humans or vampires alike when pursuing her ideas, however that did not stop her from trying to improve modern medicine. This particular project was to create a chemical that would kill almost all infections in the field and could be stored among normal supplied and not in refrigerated conditions in hospitals. It was proving challenging, as she hadn’t turned her mind to it before due to her focus on vampire body chemistry.   
“Between your sporadic visits and my preference for fishing and few words Forks has forgotten that you’re my step-daughter and think you’re my biological daughter” Charlie confessed nervously, though Isa could detect a hint of confusion regarding the breakdown in communication. Despite this expression, Isa’s face lit up with glee at this titbit of information.  
“That sounds amusing, perhaps we should fail to inform the townspeople of this mistake. You know I’m not a siren for drama like mother dearest, but this could be our private little joke. Bella Swan, Police-Chief’s daughter. It’s only bending the truth slightly, and it will help me blend in a bit more” Bella offered, as she imagined the scenario in her head.  
“Ok, but if asked directly we are telling the truth” Charlie relented   
“What are you working on?” Charlie shifted topics as he spotted the chemical equations on the page.  
“This new antibiotic for my professor” Bella mumbled as she became immersed in her work once the conversation moved on.  
“Do I need to set a timer?” Charlie asked in concern.  
“No, I’ve set a rule of every third page is a break and now I’m here, a 10-page limit day” Bella explained as she showed her page headings, planning her work load months in advance, every ten pages is a blank page with the date, forcing her to stop work. She found that she needed to consciously take breaks in order to pace herself and stop migraine episodes from happening due to stress.   
“Does that need to be kept in my gun safe at night?” Charlie asked, his concern rising, as he tried to keep himself updated on his surrogate daughter. Charlie himself could not have kids, which is why he had put an effort into helping raise Bella, something that Zach and Renee had accepted and embraced. He knew their family dynamic was odd, but it meant he got a chance at fatherhood however convoluted.   
When they arrived in Forks, they were greeted by Charlie’s friend Billy and his son as they waited by a rusty old red truck.  
“Hey there smarty pants” Billy smiled as they climbed out the car.  
“Hi Billy, how have you been?” Bella asked politely as she walked up to hug the man in the wheelchair. Bella remembered the Black’s from the few times she had visited before and had learnt to bake from his late wife.  
“I’ve been well since we last saw each other, you remember Jake? He fixed up your truck for you” Billy introduced as Jake stood there awkwardly as he leant on the truck.  
“My truck?” Bella asked in shock as she glanced quickly at Charlie, who was grinning back at her.  
“I knew you liked the classics, so I asked if Billy and Jake could fix one up for you” Charlie explained lightly before turning to the truck.  
“can we pop the hood? One of my teachers was obsessed with cars, so much so that a group of us would spend all of our free periods in the shop, became a great way for everyone to relax” Bella explained as she moved to the front of the car with Jake following behind excitedly.  
“It’s not running at 100%, but it is an old truck, just needs a bit of love and careful handling” Jake explained as he opened the hood of the car.  
“Do you want me to teach you a few tricks of the trade?” Bella asked conspirationally as she sat on the car and leant into the engine.  
“You were not chopping up engines to steal the parts, were you?” Charlie asked in alarm, his anger and suspicion spiking suddenly as he considered Bella’s words carefully.  
“Of course, not” Bella laughed good naturedly, waiting a moment to shock her step-father. “We merely took all the teachers cars apart and put them back together again to see how each part was supposed to work and fixed all the old parts of the classic and had it running like new” Bella continued as she fiddled with a few engine parts with a grin.  
“Got any ideas for your next project?” Bella asked conversationally to Jake as she leant back and started to close the hood of the car in favour of getting inside.  
“Thinking of getting a couple of old bikes, need to find some first” Jake replied happily. The conversation quickly changed tac and before Bella knew it, she was once again in the spare bedroom of Charlie’s house.

2 months later

“I don’t know Stefan, I’m going to Port Angeles tomorrow and picking up a book on the local legends, might ask Jake if he knows anything. Do you want me to list their peculiarities to you? Maybe make some enquiries that I can’t?” Bella asked late at night with the windows and doors locked and a white sound machine on.   
“It would help, but I’m not really an expert on these things and I don’t know that many witches in this area, I’m heading to Zach’s soon if that helps” Stefan huffed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.  
“Well, they’re ridiculously pale, cold to the touch too, their eyes are either black or gold and they are all ridiculously pretty, as in pretty, not ruggedly handsome. Edward, the one I’ve spoken to the most pushed a truck away that was crashing into me, and he was the other side of the parking lot a second before, so strength and speed, though I don’t know how fast, whether you’re faster or stronger. I also think someone’s watching me. It’s kind of creepy” Bella explained, as she sat hidden in her wardrobe.  
“It sounds a bit like cold ones, though not exactly, they’re basically a bit like vampires, but more animalistic. Almost as strong and fast, depending on the diet of either species, very rarely do they hunt in packs though, they have less control over their bloodlust, that’s all I really know about them, each species tends to avoid one another, we each have our hot spots so to speak. We like New Orleans and a few other places, they have a centre in Italy as much as I know, but most are a lot more nomadic. Don’t let your curiosity run away with you, I know how you get sometimes. Look, why don’t you just ask your mum?” Stefan asked with slight apprehension as he prepared to wind the conversation down.  
“You know how she gets Stefan, she’s be on the next flight over with a bowl of popcorn ready. I don’t like turning any potential supernatural drama into a soap opera like some of mum’s side of the family” Bella sighed as she climbed out of wardrobe slowly, ready to get to bed.  
“Ok, fair enough. Look, I hate to do this to you now, but I need to go on radio silence for a few months until I reach Zach’s. I’m going to run into a couple of old friends and I don’t want them asking questions, so speak to you in a few months.” Stefan explains before hanging up. Bella sighed in annoyance before placing her laptop on her desk and starting to research cold ones, looking through the folklore research departments in local universities as she settled down. Before she got too carried away she set an alarm. Back home she had an alarm built into her alarm clock to stop her working too long into the night, but here, she had yet to set that up. Groaning again, Bella knew that communication with Stefan was always sporadic, since he only felt comfortable to contact her while travelling alone. Despite how close she was to her uncle Stefan, though they call each other cousins in public to avoid confusion now, he was not the be all and end all of her knowledge of the supernatural, but she wanted to do this on her own, gain some independence and privacy while in Forks. However, much Bella loved Charlie, he was a deeply private person, and she liked that, she was too, so they never pushed each other to share the goings on in their lives which suited Bella’s wants quite nicely.   
Looking back on the 2 months that she was in Forks, Bella realised that some people here may have got the wrong idea about her personality. Bella was used to remaining quiet, and she was often working while outside of school, so she didn’t interact with her peers all that much except to know their names and sit with at lunch. Her curiosity regarding the Cullen’s also sparked a lot of interest from others, though they did not know her background with the supernatural or her analytical and curious brain. She also was considered too clumsy to function, which in effect was true, when her mind was occupied with a puzzle she tended to forget the world around her, and her mother was not here to remind her to poke her head out of its hole while in company. Regardless, it was now time for bed and Bella was going shopping tomorrow. Perhaps she should call her professor and tell him that her formulas are ready for testing, she’d need to mail them in a secure parcel or encrypt the files to high heaven, she’ll ask him tomorrow, he’s probably in his mandatory lecture at the moment in New York.   
She was on the phone with her professor the next day, in a heated argument about the security of the internet when she realised she was being herded into an alley way by a group of drunk men.  
“I have just realised that the security of the internet does not matter if I am walking down the streets at night prof, next time I will not let my guard down. I shall speak to you tomorrow” Bella interrupted as she looked up. She hung up just as tyres squealed, letting her know that someone had found her in this delicate predicament.   
As soon as she saw that the men were distracted by Edward she clambered into his car and locked her door, pulling a taser out of her bag in case. However, her fears were not realised and she was soon joined by a tense Edward as he slammed his door in a similar fashion to Stefan, who had perfected the art of slamming car doors without fear of breakages from his Vampire strength in the 40s when he was driving army trucks in the war.  
“Before you say anything, I know it was stupid and it would not have happened if my stupid teacher knew how to encrypt his IP address properly” Bella snapped as she shoved her taser in her bag with a weary sigh. She had already confirmed Stefan’s suspicions in the book shop, however a short talk with Jake as a primary source could not go amiss. Her history tutor would be so proud despite still being angry that she pursued chemistry research and not history and folklore as she had wanted her to.   
“How could you be so foolish? The streets are dangerous at night” Edward snapped back at her as he sped along the road.  
“I know, and that wouldn’t have happened if my teacher got on the ball with cyber security. Now, I haven’t had dinner yet, could you please stop at the next drive through, honestly, I could eat just about anything right now” Bella sighed, there was a slight pause between sentences as her stomach decided to make itself known, causing Edward to relax and smile.  
“I’ll take you to dinner, don’t worry, call your ride up here and tell them I’ll drop you back home” Edward chuckled. With the euphoria of avoiding a potential rape and mugging Bella silently agreed without noticing the demand in Edward’s tone.   
By the time Bella was playing baseball with the Cullen’s she had quite made herself at home in Forks, doing her University papers at home straight after school before Edward arrived. She studiously observed the Cullen’s and their nature while slowly falling for Edward. Despite her emotional involvement she still wrote up her findings with surgical precision in the mornings when Charlie was at work and Edward collecting his siblings for school, she even remembered to write it in her secret language which she called it in her head.   
Within the first two weeks of being in Forks Charlie had bought Bella a rather large floor safe that remained hidden beneath a carpet which she kept her work in, and she had even managed to coat it with Vervain without Charlie noticing which was a bonus.   
However, despite this methodical planning, Bella could not foresee James, rather she could not anticipate him. She felt nervous and jumpy as soon as she set foot on the field, something was coming and Alice had not detected it yet, so Bella made a point to appear even more uncertain as she watched the Cullen’s play. A few years back, Stefan and one of his most trustworthy vampire friends joined her family holiday to Chile where she had experienced a similar game of ball, though they were very high up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, they did still need the storm.   
As soon as Alice stopped pitching, Bella knew something was coming, she didn’t realise that it would end quite so dramatically. The tense feeling had not left her since leaving Forks and Bella started pacing when Alice got her vision in the motel room in Phoenix.  
“I need to call someone” Bella snapped as soon as she recognised the studio that Alice was drawing. It was a ballet studio, and she did attend classes there, but she used the place more for her self-defence lessons when she was in phoenix and she hadn’t seen Stefan in a while.  
“You can’t call your parents, James will be having them watched. Renee and Charlie will be safe as long as you don’t contact them” Jasper replied as Bella fished out her emergency phone and found Stefan’s number immediately, due in part to the fact it was one of very few numbers on this phone.  
“I’m not calling my parents, this is not someone that James would likely have an eye on, trust me Jasper” Bella snapped as she started calling him, just as Alice was coming out of her vision. Bella retreated to the bathroom, hoping that the preoccupation with Alice’s vision would mean that they wouldn’t listen to the conversation.   
“Stefan, pick up, please” Bella nearly cried as the phone kept ringing.   
“Isa, what’s wrong? I said I wouldn’t be able to call for a few months” Stefan demanded urgently, Bella could hear noises fading in the background as Stefan moved away from prying ears.  
“Your suspicions were correct, I have a tracker after me, Cullen’s are protecting me, if you don’t hear from me in a week, come to Phoenix, don’t worry Dad or Renee or Charlie, we need better emergency protocol for these sorts of situations” Bella whispered in a hurry as she tried to keep herself together.  
“Ballet studio, James the tracker is trying to lure me there, just, if shit goes down, start there” Bella finished before hanging up. She knew that if she continued Alice and Jasper would start to worry. She didn’t need that on top of a probably now neurotic Ripper of Monterey.   
“Sorry guys, my cousin was just expecting a call, told him I needed to get some work done in private down here for a while.” Bella mumbled as she racked her brain for ways to get to the ballet studio. She knows that they did not leave enough false trails to fool James for long, and he was probably getting impatient, more likely to lash out, so she needed to work fast.   
She managed to slip out fairly easily, Alice had gone to hunt and Jasper seemed more concerned with controlling his own blood lust until Alice returned to focus on Bella, so it was not long before she was breaking into the studio where James was waiting for her.   
“I have to say the chase has been entertaining, but the surprises I found when I arrived here far outweighed any satisfaction I could have gained from this little hunt human.” James growled as he pressed play on a TV that had Bella’s ballet recital   
“No surprises, just poor research I’m afraid James. What is it that intrigued you?” Bella asked nervously as she shifted to keep him in her line of sight. That was always rule number one from Stefan. They instinctually try to behave normally when in sight of humans, so there is a slight hesitation before they will go for the kill if you watch them and watch them carefully. She didn’t know if this was true for cold ones, but she hoped it was.  
“You never really lived, here did you? There were no school photos, I checked. Your Mother is away, I think someone said something about communing with tribes in Africa,” James listed as he observed Bella like a cat would a mouse they were playing with.  
“I went to boarding school for a very long time, I only returned home on holiday, and it is no secret that Renee is travelling. Now what do you intend to do with me?” Bella demanded as her shackles rose. He didn’t mention her father and her rather complicated ancestry yet, hopefully he didn’t know, they had taken such care to hide it.   
“I’m going to eat you eventually, but first I like to get the blood pumping, adrenaline is just so addictive, it’s a pity my body can’t produce it anymore” James chuckled before he lunged for Bella. Despite years of preparing for a vampire attack, when it came to it, Bella was ill equipped, she knew how to kill this species, but the ability was beyond her reach at the moment. She did not want the entire building to go down in flames in an attempt to trap James and kill him. Besides, she did not like killing, all her life’s work and focus had been on the preservation of life, and despite the threat James posed to Bella’s life, she wasn’t sure if she would have the heart to kill this man even if she could, so she sat on the broken glass and cried as James snapped her leg clean in half.   
When the Cullen’s arrived she was unable to communicate with them as the venom burned through her veins, she watched with a mixture of gratitude and regret as they ripped James’ body to shreds, holding her body limp as Edward started sucking the venom out of her blood stream. She could tell when her blood was clean, having enough working knowledge of anatomy and an understanding of her own body, and as she watched Edward she tried so hard to speak up and tell him to stop, but she was losing blood, and consciousness.  
“He’s dead Carlisle, Bella is safe” Jasper explained just as she blacked out.

In the hospital

“Can I have a moment to call my family and explain what has happened?” Bella requested once her condition had been explained to her. Her calmness could have been explained by the drugs, and it was only Jasper that showed a moment of confusion before everyone left the hospital room, Edward somewhat reluctantly.   
Bella called Stefan first, knowing that he would be worrying the most due to his foreknowledge of the danger she was in.  
“I’m fine Stefan, before you start ranting and worrying, I am in hospital still human and I will heal” Bella spoke as soon as the call connected and before Stefan could start. She just got a very heavy sigh of relief in return.  
“James was a tracker, I was at a baseball game with the Cullen’s, friendly bunch. He caught my scent, we ended up in Phoenix, I went to the Ballet studio, James broke my leg and bit me, the venom was removed, it’s just the leg and some blood loss” Bella debriefed her cousin as she could tell the unspoken demand for details.  
“Thank God Bella, you are coming to Mystic falls when you are recovered and we are sorting out emergency protocol, your mother will be there too. Now call them and tell everyone what is going on.” Stefan ordered. The only reason Bella didn’t rebuke him for his terse response was because she knew he was worried, and most likely didn’t have the freedom right now to speak up or rush to her side. Despite the fact that Stefan promised only to keep an eye on Bella, he had bonded quite well with his descendant, and between her boarding school and travelling between parents, Bella had seen more of Stefan growing up than her parents in the years that she knew him. And it was this relationship and respect she had for Stefan that halted her tongue.  
“Alright, I’ll conference call them, Edward is getting rather clingy and is watching my phone calls through the window. I swear if he wasn’t so attractive, he wouldn’t get away with nearly as much of this protective shit as he does” Bella grumbled to a laughing Stefan as she hung up. When she was away at school, family meetings would often take place over conference call, so Bella was quite adept at calling in Her parents and Charlie at the same time without the Cullen’s noticing from outside.  
“Hi, so you know how I get sometimes when I get an idea in my head?” Bella asks nervously as she heard all of her parents connect, demanding answers for this impromptu family call.  
“What happened Bella?” Charlie demanded almost immediately. He so didn’t buy the cock and bull story of moving back to Phoenix for a while for ‘space’, Bella wonders why she let the Cullen’s use that story to begin with.   
“I broke my leg in an accident, ambulance didn’t get there right away so I lost a bit of blood. Once I get the bone set and cast on I can get back to Forks, Carlisle came with Edward who followed me, I think he thought we had a fight and wanted to apologise, anyway he’ll bring my medical file back with him for treating at the hospital there” Bella explained, knowing she needed to be careful which details to divulge with Charlie present.  
“Why did you go back to Arizona Isa?” Charlie demanded sharply over the phone, knowing that she was withholding the truth.  
“I needed a book I left at mum’s, due to the sensitive nature of some of its contents, I thought it best not to divulge the nature of my trip to anyone before leaving.” Bella offered vaguely but firmly. It was the tone she used with Charlie when she was asking him politely to back off.   
“Ok, well I’ll be waiting for you here, Angela was worried when you didn’t show for class yesterday” Charlie replied before hanging up. As soon as her parents had heard his dial tone, and double checked that he was not on the line they both erupted into questions.  
“Ok, calm down, I’ll explain the unedited version, is Italian ok? The Cullen’s are watching and they don’t know I speak it” Bella interrupted.  
“Go ahead Isa, your father and I are listening” Renee replied, her voice laced with anxiety, and though she may deny it, excitement. Bella was not exaggerating when she said her mother lived for this sort of drama.  
“Ok, started dating Edward Cullen, they are cold ones, different vampire, animal blood though, another cold one started hunting me, chased to Phoenix, broke my leg and bit me, venom removed and leg healing, am having a blood transfusion as we speak, the system they used was practically archaic that I was tempted to request a plasma transfusion instead, much less mess to deal with there. Anyway, Cullen’s played hero, am on the road to recovery, tracker cold one dead, and I am leaving Phoenix on the next patient transport that will get me back to Washington. I think Carlisle can pull a few strings, if not I might have to drag Stefan out here.” Bella rushed out in quick fire but muttered Italian, spinning through a couple of mispronunciations to try and confuse the Cullen’s if they were trying to read her lips.  
“Ok, as soon as you are on crutches we are going to Mystic falls, you need to be better prepared for these situations, honey. And if you ever go through this sort of drama again without calling me, I am replacing all of your lecture recordings with sex and the city episodes” Renee threatened over the phone as she formed a plan of action in her mind.  
“Ok, the doctor’s coming back now, he better not be discussing my condition with Carlisle, I don’t care if he’s a doctor, confidentiality still stands” Bella replied and promptly hung up as she saw Carlisle talking with her doctor. Edward saw his cue and immediately bolted through the door, allowing Bella to shout through the open doorway to her doctor before he stopped at Carlisle.  
“So, what’s the prognosis? How long will I have the cast and how long will I be doing physio for?” Bella called as she saw her doctor blush at the underhand admonishment for his actions outside of her room.  
“That is hard to tell Isabella, once the cast has been on a week, we’ll do an x-ray to track the healing, but as I’m sure you know, you have a few months at the least of hard work” The doctor replied. She had broken her arm once before a few years back, and he clearly remembered her shouting for him to use her first name instead of stumbling awkwardly over her surnames, especially in front of her parents, Charlie and Renee’s fiancé at the time.   
“Ok, but you know what I think about your sharing my file with others don’t you?” Bella joked good naturedly with the doctor as she tried to sit up.  
“Bella, I will be taking over your care in Forks, it was just a professional curtesy to share your file outside” Carlisle chastised Bella as he settled onto the chair next to Edward while everyone else hovered at the edges of the room. Some of them were clearly suffering with the hospital smells.  
“Oh, don’t worry about her, we had this discussion when she broke her arm a few years back, and I was talking to her parents instead of her as if I offended her. She knew you see, that as she had shown a capacity to make informed decisions regarding her medical treatment, that she was to be consulted on who had access to her medical information, and bear in mind I was explaining the situation to her own mother” The doctor laughed as he waved a nurse over.  
“Your prescription for pain killers should be ready shortly, after that, your patient transport shall be arranged to take you to Forks Washington, Doctor Cullen here had already informed me that these arrangements should be made for you while you were unconscious Isabella” The Doctor smiled before leaving the room happily. He always called her Isabella to annoy her, since as he said when she broke her arm, ‘if I can’t address you formally, I shall just have to irritate you as formally as I can’, he was a great doctor, and unusually accommodating of her family and their antics. It meant that he was her go to doctor while in the state.   
“He seemed like a lovely man” Jasper piped up, breaking the silence, which was unusual for him, Bella decided that something had happened while she was out that did not sit well with him.  
“What’s wrong Jasper?” Bella enquired as she leant back on her pillows.  
“Victoria got away, I only fear for retaliation on her part. Edward informed me that she was not considering revenge when she fled” Jasper frowned, his thoughts obviously concerning him, and too tangled it seemed for Edward to understand them clearly.   
“Well, it does seem cruel to punish her for the actions of her mate, despite the fact that she helped him. I think I’ll get some rest while we wait.” Bella responded as she started to drift into sleep. 

During the summer after the prom Bella spent in a boot, the Cullen’s were very reluctant to part with Bella when she, as the story goes, went to spend time with her mother at one of her husband’s games. In actual facts she was sat at the table of the Salvatore house, planning for emergencies with Zach Renee and Stefan, they did not leave the house once while they were there, not wanting to be seen by the locals, that was always very clear whenever they resorted to using the boarding house as a meeting point. They had spent such a long time erasing Bella from their memories.   
“Ok, a vial of vampire blood, surrounded by vervain, protection from warm ones. If I’m attacked by cold ones, hopefully the Cullen’s will be close by, but if not, I have a few vials of ready to mix explosives like in die hard 3, mix them up and boom, I have something I can store them in, I designed it for samples at the university, but I still have the prototype. It’s small, I’ll have to keep a bag on me at all times. When I get back to Forks, I’ll talk Charlie into helping me get a concealed weapons permit, my work with the military might help with that, protection from political terrorists and all that. Is there anything else I might need?” Bella asked as she read through her notes, in perfect coded Korean in case anyone else found her journal, Bella was very thankful that her brain was able to absorb languages so easily.   
“Well, there’s always werewolves, but I can’t think of anything for them, other than seduction when they’re human, but somehow I don’t think you’ll be going for the furies for a while when you have such a pretty boyfriend” Renee commented flippantly  
“excuse me Renee?” Zach interrupted almost angry at the attitude Renee had. Stefan caught Bella’s eye and grinned. Whenever there were family meetings like this there was at least one squabble and Stefan had long since stopped gambling with Bella on who would win, Bella always won.  
“Yes, pretty boyfriend. So, are the rumours true that all cold ones look like angels to lure their prey?” Renee asked as she turned to Bella, as if she would not rise to the bait that Zach was dangling.  
“Yes, it’s true, now that I think about it, it’s the equivalent advantage of compulsion. Though Edward seems completely oblivious to it” Bella commented, thinking back on her interactions with the Cullen’s. Stefan observed Bella carefully deep in thought, considering her feelings with regards to her boyfriend, Renee and Zach watching him to follow his lead with regards to questioning the relationship. They all decided to drop the case for now though.  
“Bella, enjoy your summer, and if I find out you’ve finished half of your research paper in that time, I am sticking you in Vegas after a bottle of tequila and am not collecting you till you get hitched to a stranger” Renee teased good naturedly.   
“You guys remember Marie, I started at college with her when we left boarding school” Bella started with a slight smile that grew very quickly.  
“Zach became slightly suspicious of where this conversation was leading but stayed quiet regardless.  
“during a break where our supervisors shut down the labs for the holidays, Marie decided that we needed to really experience college, we got drunk, it was spring break, hitched a ride to Vegas with a group from our residence building, and I had to stop her going down the aisle to Vegas with an even more intoxicated classmate. We were sixteen, but this friend hand not been informed of such, while recovering from said hang over he nearly had a heart attack, he passed out again when Marie piped up her surprise at choosing him while drunk since she was almost exclusively lesbian” Bella told as she started to create a pendant from some platinum wire she used for her chemistry work. She was fashioning it to hold a vial of enough vampire blood for transition and to be twisted with Vervain. The design had already formed in her head as they were speaking, with her foreknowledge of vervain jewellery helping somewhat. Her family burst into laughter at her tale, enjoying the light-hearted reprieve.  
“Looking forward to graduating high-school with your peers?” Zach asked warmly as he watched his daughter as she turned to the shading of the pendant sketch after setting down her pliers.  
“Yes, it’s the most normal thing I’ll probably ever do, I might even go to college with some of them, do the typical undergrad things without fear it will completely ruin puberty” Bella sighed in happiness. As she considered what she wanted to do.  
“Will Edward be there?” Renee probed gently as she carefully observed her glass instead of her daughter.  
“I hope he will be, but I still want to study normally with my peers. I did accelerated programs before, it’d be nice to do things slowly.” Bella replied thoughtfully. Knowing Bella would most likely want to think on that particular issue in private Zach made sure to turn the conversation around again.  
“You do realise that if you study science, you could potentially be teaching your friends instead of learning with them?” Zach teased warmly as Bella came to the realisation that there was a reason you didn’t do college backwards.   
“Fair point, could you imagine if I was called on if a lecturer was sick? It would be so embarrassing. I’m going to study history while completing my research fellowship.” Bella decided as she considered the practicalities of her situation.  
“Atta girl” Stefan chuckled as they broke off.  
“Stefan, whose blood will I keep? We don’t know whether the Ripper thing can be passed on” Bella asked as she hunted down a long enough chain for her new necklace.  
“Already thought of that, an old friend of mine, you don’t ever want to meet him, but he gave this to me for a different purpose, but it would be put to better use with you” Stefan explained as he dug out a vial from a protected compartment in his bag.   
“What friend and what purpose?” Bella enquired as she fixed the vial in her pendant, fixing it in place with expert fingers.   
“What friend? What are you talking about?” Stefan responded as soon as the blood was out of sight, confusion creasing his forehead in a disturbingly familiar expression. Bella just hummed noncommittedly, thoughts sifting through her head as she moved to catch up with her parents outside. They had loaded the car with whatever Bella would need for the journey back to Forks with a broken leg. Bella saw the slight signs of compulsion but did not quite understand how it could be affecting Stefan, perhaps there are some vampires that can compel other vampires. However, it did not concern her, if Stefan thought she needed to be kept in the dark about some matters, she trusted him enough to allow it, with that she dropped the topic.  
18th Birthday  
“Hey Stefan? Something happened today and I need some advice from a world weary 17-year-old” Bella grumbled as she carefully fell into bed once she arrived home, making sure not to jostle her arm. She had made sure to lock her window just in case, though she doubted Edward would show up tonight.  
“What’s wrong? Something’s going on at Mystic falls, so we can’t talk for long” Stefan questioned on the end of the phone.  
“I got a paper cut at the Cullen’s, Jasper nearly went batshit. Then everyone else had to make a quick exit, Carlisle had to patch me up. It’s the first time I’d seen them all really struggle with their bloodlust, after first meeting Edward at least. From what I understand of all their abilities Jasper’s an empath, he was feeling everyone’s thirst on top of his own struggles, things got out of hand quickly. If I had been open with them from the beginning, I may have been able to find a way for them to have a better control of their bloodlust, or at least a diet that minimises thirst. But I can’t go around saying I’m a supernatural chemist. Things are going to be difficult here for a while. Mentally Edward is still a 17-year-old guy grappling with the responsibilities and experiences of a hundred-year-old, unlike you he hasn’t been able to balance the two” Bella sighed with drowsiness.  
“whatever you or he decides Isa, just remember that I am here for you, Zach is here for you and so is Renee, but remember, things can’t stay the way they are, he’s forever 17, you’re not, either you turn for him, or you have to part ways, and this time I don’t think you will have any control over the decision. But I have problems here. I think Damon is close by, it might be someone else, but it could mean trouble following me. I’ll not be able to come home for a while, I might not even be able to call. So just stay safe and know that I’m on radio silence” Stefan explained begrudgingly.  
“If dad is in trouble, send him to me, please, if shit hits the fan, keep as much of our family safe Stefan, especially Sarah, if she is found tell me immediately. I may be mortal, but I am not stupid, if things get complicated you can always come to me” Bella replied, hanging up the phone on those words of comfort, knowing Stefan did not want to hang up on someone that reminded him, Bella suspected of his long dead sister.  
“I do not walk this world alone” Isa muttered to herself. The saying was a passing comment made by a philosophy professor when she first started boarding school, but it came to mean so much to her. It meant that she was not alone, she had family and friends, and people she cared for and cared for her. It was also a warning she found, it was the centre of her moral compass almost, she needed to remember the bigger picture and the individuals that were affected by her every decision. When brain storming ideas, she scrapped so many because they did not sit well with her simple prayer, she did not walk this world alone, and therefore had to care and respect those that walked it with her. She suspected that professor did not intend for this comment to hold that meaning but it did, and because of it, she was able to accept her family despite their age or abilities, and she was able to accept the Cullen’s, despite whatever Edward may be thinking at the moment.   
Isa knew her feelings with regards to Vampirism, though she suspected she was not ready to make a decision yet. 

3 days later Bella was glad that she had spoken about this with Stefan, on some level she was prepared and waiting for Edward to break up with her, she didn’t realise he would be so cruel about it though. All she could hear was ‘I don’t want you to come’ and ‘you don’t belong’ going over in her head again and again. She sat outside in the forest for a good hour at least. She soon returned home when she felt the beginnings of a migraine, she needed to get home and have a long bath before she found the courage to call her mother.  
“Hi mom, are you free to talk?” Bella asked as she sat on her bed in her pyjamas at 3 in the afternoon.   
“I am always free to talk with you, is everything the matter over there? Do I need to come and mess with some people’s heads?” Renee asked softly as she listened to the vulnerability in her daughter’s voice.  
“Edward broke up with me” Bella started, and as she continued to explain what had happened, her voice grew strength, speaking aloud helping her to process the events of the past few days.  
“what a dick” Renee responded bluntly once Bella had finished, to the weak protests of her daughter.  
“It’s true though, he truthfully knew very little about you, potentially put you in danger, and made important decisions for you without consulting your opinion, you remember that when you process this break up Bella. He did not respect you enough to ask about your feelings regarding the matter, you may still have broken up, but he treated you as a disposable commodity that he could simply leave behind without consideration for your feelings at the end of the day” Renee ranted, trying to push Bella towards anger instead of grief over the recent events.  
“Thank you, mom, where are you at the moment? Running into trouble at all?” Bella asked, trying to take her mother’s lead and move on from Edward. Silently she knew that she would cry herself to sleep that night though.

The next day at school, after a very poor night’s sleep Bella walked up to Forks high-school and sat down with Angela and Jessica  
“Guys are dicks and your eye candy has gone and done a runner” Bella stated bluntly as Angela and Jessica turned to Bella in shock. She very rarely spoke to them after starting her relationship with Edward, a fact that she hoped to rectify very soon.  
“So, the Cullen’s skipped town? Now we’re good enough to hang out with because you don’t have a better alternative?” Jessica snapped angrily as she took Bella in. She did not take kindly to being supposedly snubbed.  
“I’m sorry, didn’t really think about a balanced social life. I guess Al was right about being unable to maintain normal social interactions” Bella muttered as she tried to apologise to Jessica.  
“Come on, if you were in a relationship with Edward Jessica, you would have forgotten the days of the week, let alone maintain friendships. What happened?” Angela asked after rebuffing Jessica Stanley’s complaints.  
“After a little fight Edward suddenly decided I wasn’t good enough for him and told me this as his family was leaving. Classy” Bella explained as she nearly collapsed onto the table in front of her in an attempt to get some sleep.  
“You know what? Marie and I can’t even follow normal breakup procedure because Edward was a prude and I don’t know what he’s like in bed” Bella complained to the horror and confusion of the girls in front of her.  
“What are you talking about?” Angela practically choked as she tried to understand what just came out of her shy friend’s mouth.  
“Oh, yeah, Marie is my friend from my old school. She didn’t have a normal introduction to dating, so created this system for coping with break ups. Basically, if they were good or bad in bed would decide whether she would get drunk or revenge prank someone. Much easier to do at a boarding school. You know where people sleep” Bella laughed softly as she clearly recalled memories of both experiences.   
“clearly we have missed something incredibly important here. So, you went to boarding school?” Angela asked curiously as they sat there waiting for the school day to start. Bella enjoyed the rest of the day, talking and hanging out with her class mates like a normal person. She was still glued to her journal the entire day, but she managed to become closer to her friends at the same time.  
“So, are you guys going to university next year? Bella asked as she let Angela and Jessica into her house at the end of the day. It was a Friday and she found she was ok with postponing her research paper for a few hours. The results of the testings from a few months previously would arrive in the next couple of weeks, and she had a lot to prepare for it.  
“Yeah, I got accepted into NYU pending my SATs last week. Did you apply?” Angela asked as she tried to think back on the application process and whether Bella joined them or not.  
“Well, I may not have been entirely honest when I moved here, I sort of am already a student there” Bella confessed awkwardly while leaning against the fridge in the kitchen. She knew she would never have been able to maintain her secret indefinitely, but she was dreading having to admit to her deception to anyone.  
“What do you mean already a student?” Jessica asked, her face contorted into shock and confusion.  
“Well, I had the privilege of having an accelerated educational career and started University a while ago. I came to Forks to live normally for a while and to graduate high-school with my peers” Bella tried to explain simply while going into very little detail of the how she accomplished this.  
“Are you saying you’re some kind of genius?” Jessica asked in disbelief as she looked Bella up and down. She was trying to find some outward sign of difference now she had discovered this.  
“Sort of, but I don’t want this being splashed around school please, I wanted to have a somewhat normal high-school experience. I suppose overly dramatic boyfriend can be added to that column.” Bella grumbled as she placed soft drinks on the table and they all sat down to relax. Before the room could be plunged into awkward silence, Angela broke it with a rather loud snort of amusement.  
“Remember that biology lesson where we had a competition about onions?” Angela asked in way of an explanation.  
“Edward asked to check all of Bella’s work? He didn’t trust the work of a genius. Sort of sexist if you think about it, Mike trusted my work without question” Angela clarified before laughing again.  
“That mother fucker” Bella nearly yelled in anger. Only now thinking back on her relationship and what her mother had told her about his lack of respect for her opinion.  
“I have a feeling we would have been planning a prank if the Cullen’s hadn’t skipped town” Jessica chuckled before taking her drink as she watched Bella go three different shades of red.  
The next few months went by with Bella becoming closer with Angela and Jessica, surprisingly they kept her secret and had quite a bit of fun between Bella’s work and the rest of their study. That stopped the day Jake rocked up to the school with a few other guys in a truck to talk to Bella.  
“Hi, can you come up to the reservation with us this afternoon? We need to talk” Jake asked nervously. He had only spent a couple afternoons with Bella since the Cullen’s had left, and those were spent in the garage fixing up a couple of bikes. One of those feelings overcame Bella as he spoke, and she grasped her pendant for comfort before agreeing and following her tentative friend over to the strangers in front of her.  
“I’ll call you guys later, we might be able to get together afterwards to look at that paper I spoke about.” Bella called back to her friends before climbing into the truck. Jessica had given her and Angela a ride into school that day, they took it in turns after a rather political discussion in their chemistry class a few weeks ago.   
“See you later then” Angela shouted before they lost sight of each other. There was a tense silence as they drove out of Forks up to the reservation.  
“Do you know how to reach the Cullen’s?” Jake asked apprehensively as they were climbing out of the truck by the yard of Billy’s place.  
“No, they skipped town, only Edward said goodbye, though it is debatable whether that was preferable or not” Bella replied. She tried to hide her annoyance at the question but winced when she heard the short reply leave her mouth. She observed Jake look back to the tallest one that was glaring over at her, he was sitting on the fence, his disapproval obvious, as was the physical threat he posed.  
“look, I know the local legends. If you want to confirm or deny them, just know that they are what led me to figuring out the Cullen’s history in the area. Do you want to explain what has your panties in a twist?” Bella asked, turning directly to the man that was doing a very good job of intimidating everyone in his presence, it was a good thing that Bella preferred confrontation to intimidation.  
“a redhead has been spotted circling the area, care to fill us in on that?” he asked, obviously refusing to play by Bella’s game. At the mention of the redhead Bella paused, clutching her pendant again. In the months that she had been wearing it, it had become a comfort to her. She knew she had a backup plan for whatever eventuality she came across.  
“Her name is Victoria. Her partner James went up against the Cullen’s and lost. I would tender a guess that the woman did not take kindly to that” Bella replied, staying equally vague. She saw what he was doing and rose to the challenge.  
“When you visited Phoenix a few months ago? That was what that was about?” Jake guessed. His temper obviously not having improved with his growth spurt that Bella had noted briefly when he had approached her at the school. The suddenness of his change led Bella to mentally scan the book on the local legends as soon as she spotted him. Realising the truth while she was in the car.  
“Yes. Look, if you want to do anything about her presence, then just be warned that James was a highly skilled tracker and she most likely picked up some tricks of the trade over the years. That chapter of my life is over though, so I would appreciate a lift back to my house.” Bella advised before standing at the passenger door of the truck everyone had just vacated.  
“You would prefer secrecy, and I understand that. Come to me if there is a major problem though” Bella spoke softly, as a farewell of sorts to the men in front of her as Jake climbed into the truck.  
“I won’t say anything, you know Jake, and with that in mind we can still be friends.” Bella whispered in an attempt to comfort Jake, who was nearly shaking with tension.  
“I’m surprised you didn’t try to meddle like you did with the Cullen’s” Jake piped up. Attempting levity, though the accusation was clearly there in his tone.  
“Look Jake, I’m graduating with my friends in a few months. I would like to do so calmly, and move up to New York, go to University, Edward dumping me like he did put that into perspective. I don’t want to go backwards, but at the same time I did learn some things from my time with them. If you need me, just ask. But I have school, and this paper I’m working on. I’m here if you need me. I am a judgement free zone, though I come with free life advise also” Bella smiled when they pulled up outside Charlie’s place. The police cruiser was sitting there, but she was in no rush to go inside.  
“Remember Jake, just do you, I’ll still be there for you” Bella sighed before climbing out and entering her house.  
A month later, Bella drove out to the middle of the forest in Forks alone. The weekend previously she had been working on Jake’s bikes with him, she noticed how tense and nervous he was the entire afternoon, so decided a bit of proactive meddling was in order.  
She sat the cool bag she had with her down but kept her normal bag as close as possible. She then set up a camping table and two chairs. A blood bag taken from a university fridge was pierced and placed on the table next to a water bottle. With that Isa sat and waited.  
It only took an hour for Victoria to appear, she had been observing Bella for 5 minutes before hand though. Bella could feel her.  
“Is this a trick? Is your boyfriend going to pop up the moment my back is turned?” Victoria asked as she approached carefully. Her voice was almost angelic Isa thought. Hopefully this would go smoothly.  
“He’s my ex-boyfriend. Severe martyr complex, but I am here to discuss the situation with you.” Isa explained, short and to the point. She hoped that an air of professionalism would help defuse any tension in the air. Though still wary, Victoria perched on the chair Isa had set out for her.  
“I believe the blood was a sample from a diabetic for testing, I hope that does not worry you. I know very little of the nutritional needs of cold ones” Isa continued as if she were setting up for an informal business meeting.  
“What is it you want?” Victoria asked as she picked up the blood bag carefully, making sure not to spill some from the puncture that lured her to this location.   
“I personally want to be left in peace. But that is not why I am here. You came back to enact revenge for your mate James” Isa started as she also picked up her water bottle.   
“Your family killed him” Victoria snarled as she sat up, it reminded her of a cat with its shackles raised.   
“The Cullen’s killed James after he hunted and tried to kill me. At that time, I had slipped the Cullen’s protection to confront James alone. I did not want any unnecessary blood spilt. When the Cullen’s arrived I was not able to communicate with them, and they ripped James to shreds in order to stop him. They thought they were protecting an innocent human under their protection. I’m sorry that you lost someone you cared about because of these actions” Isa specified. She did not want Victoria getting any facts wrong, the actions she took after being informed of the entire situation were for her to decide, but she did not want mistakes being made on her account.   
“I was hoping to reason with James. He liked the chase, he was given one, but I don’t think he would have enjoyed the aftermath” Isa started as Victoria tilted her head in confusion as she listened.  
“The Cullen’s would have killed him in revenge? We do have laws. Letting you live after this would break them, but warring covens do have certain freedoms” Victoria explained.  
“Yes, disputes are seen as acts of war, so casualties’ are seen in those circumstances. If these circumstances violate your laws, go to the necessary authorities, but please leave the citizens of Forks out of it. Killing a few people on your way through, though I personally do not agree is one thing, but targeting them as bystanders in your revenge plan is something I cannot sit by and watch. Do things the right way and know that I vow to my silence on the matter.” Isa responded as calmly as possible.   
“The Volturi know the Cullen’s, they may not be likely to take my side on the matter. But with what you have said, they took the side of a human over their own kind, a crime not taken lightly. Thank you for trying to reach out to me, not many humans would be so brave” Victoria spoke up, deep in thought as she finished her blood bag.   
“I have a small explosive device in my bag for if things went tits up. I may have reached out to you but I am no fool. I have a few questions for you that I did not feel I could ask the Cullen’s if you are willing though.” Isa explained with a faint smile, glad to see the brief shock mar the redhead’s marble skin.  
“What questions could you possibly ask me that you were not able to ask the Cullen’s?” Victoria asked curiously. At the first opportunity, Isa turned to her cool bag and grabbed a few containers.  
“I study body chemistry, or pathology if you will, I was wondering how your diet affected strength, and what effect alternative diets would have on your health” Isa explained with slight nervousness as she placed the containers clearly on the table.  
“The Cullen’s partake in an animal diet, I was wondering if you had ever reverted to this method while isolated from civilisation. Coconut milk is used for emergency plasma transfusions, I was wondering whether it could be used to supplement your diet, and whether it would have any affects upon your thirst. A lot of the nutrients of blood is found dissolved in the plasma, and since you don’t need to breath, I was wondering what parts of the blood are absorbed into your systems” Isa explained as she opened a bottle of coconut milk, as well as containers of animal and human blood.  
“You are certainly brave, I’ll give you that” Victoria exhaled, almost like a shocked bark of laughter, though no sound was made.   
“Of course, you are under no obligation to answer any questions or try any of these options. The Cullen’s all at some level seem to resent their nature as cold ones. Plus, they did not try to learn of my scientific endeavours.” Isa continued with slight apprehension  
“you know what, for the balls you have shown me, I might just trial some of these options. Even if some of them work, does not mean I will not revert back to my human diet, be warned. But for the sake of scientific curiosity, I say what the hell. You might want feedback, I presume, on the results. I’ll find your phone number.” Victoria smiled as she picked up and smelled each container.   
“There is research at the moment on the use of synthetic blood. Theoretically, you could tailor make your perfect snack, but that is still a far way into the future.” Isa commented as she moved the cool bag onto the table.  
“There are a few containers of each option in this bag, mix and match as you please. There was something else that seems a much deeper intrusion, but I think I’ll risk it” Isa started as she started packing the bag up for the dangerous woman before her.  
“What could possibly be more intrusive?” Victoria questioned with delight. It seemed that Victoria quite liked the surprises that Isa provided.  
“May I have a sample of your venom; a cheek swab would be enough. I just want to know the nature of the venom. It would be unlikely that I would find an antivenom. But studying it might also teach me the nutritional needs of a cold one.” Isa explained nervously.  
“For someone who could not work up the courage to ask the Cullen’s about this, you seem awfully knowledgeable. What secret are you hiding?” Victoria asked, staring unblinkingly at the girl before her, suspicion rising with that final request.  
“my secrets are worth dying for Victoria, they do not concern you, but my personal safety.” Isa replied, sinking back down onto her chair in dread.  
“James was rather curious about your family history in the hours before he died. When he arrived in Phoenix he was surprised not to find your mother, and to find very little trace of you there. I suppose these little inconsistencies come into play with these secrets. I’ll make a deal, my venom for some answers.” Victoria offered as she picked up the handle of the cool bag lightly, feigning indifference with the gesture.  
“I went to boarding school most of my life. My scientific endeavours with Vampires are just a hobby, certified genius my father calls me. Charlie is my step-father. My biological father is where the secrets lie. Beyond that, I’m sure if you really want to find out, I would direct you to New Orleans. Is that satisfactory?” Isa asked.   
“That will be enough for me. James was often like a dog with a bone. Sometimes that was a desirable trait, and sometimes not. I’ll leave you be, but if you cross my path again, I won’t spare you. If these substitutes are successful, I will call you. Beyond that, I’ll move my hunting ground, find the Cullen’s and figure out what to do next.” Victoria offered by way of peace offering before emptying Isa’s water bottle and spitting in it.  
“Thank you. If you ever do tire of running from murder charges, there are people I know that run blood banks. Some samples cannot be used for medical uses, they are often destroyed as biological waste. See if they are willing to fudge the paperwork,” Isa suggested before packing up her chairs and table.   
“Vampires are not known for evolving with the times you know, but I suppose you do, seeing as you have so much experience with us cold ones.” Victoria stated, a suspicion developing in her mind as she moved to leave with a cool bag over her shoulder.  
“Victoria, if you want to avoid the wolves, leave from the area along the Cullen’s territory, the wolves won’t void the treaty even with the Cullen’s gone” Isa called back as she picked up her camping table and chairs.   
3 years later  
Isa had managed to move on completely from her run in with the Cullen’s, and she was currently living in New York. Since the Salvatore’s still had old family money, her dad had been able to settle a large deposit for an apartment complex near the university. She lived in one of the apartments while renting out the rest, with her income from the university and the rents from the tenants, she was living comfortably with a building manager left to deal with any and all building issues. At least one of the tenants was from the university, Isa knew, and she was even considering the possibility of converting the building to student residences if she ever moved cities.   
“Isa! I got into my master’s program!” Angela screamed as she let herself in.  
“That’s awesome, is Marie your supervisor?” Isa laughed. After high-school she had become nearly inseparable from Angela. She had decided to go into psychology, at which point Isa demanded to introduce her two friends, though the same age, Marie became Angela’s tutor. The first thing she had told Angela on meeting her was ‘don’t get drunk and nearly marry in Vegas, you’ll be a case study in class for months’, it seemed to break the ice and they all got along like a house on fire.   
“Jess is coming for a visit, soon isn’t she?” Isa asked as she entered the kitchen, looking for a bottle of champagne, which they could now legally buy.  
“Yeah, she needs to drive all the way from Duke though and won’t be here till the weekend, so we’ll have to save the proper celebrations for then” Angela laughed as she accepted the glass.  
“How’s your cousin? You spoke on the phone the other day, you both seemed worried” Angela asked after her first taste. It took an entire year for Isa to confide in Angela about her family and the truth about the Cullen’s and she took it surprisingly well. It had taken an entire night of drinking for her to confess ‘I always knew those fucks were strange, camping my arse, no trace of them in the woods until you reach bear territory, they were either stupid or something. Now I know. If we ever see them again stick Stefan on them, should scare the shit out of them’. Granted Angela was incredibly drunk and would not have been cursing and suggesting casual violence otherwise, but it made Isa feel better. Jessica was another story all together. Isa never told Jessica about the supernatural, but a week into spring break last year, when Isa knew she was back in Forks visiting family, Jessica showed up on her doorstep looking completely frazzled and exhausted.  
‘stupid possessive fucks’ was the only thing Jessica had said before storming over to Isa’s hidden stash of hard liquor she had smuggled out of the Salvatore Boarding house the only time she had been back there in the three years previous.  
‘what happened?’ Isa asked as Jessica had poured a full glass of top shelf bourbon.  
‘you’ve been keeping secrets Isa, first I find out I’m some mystical imprint to a bloody werewolf, then I find out you dated a vampire! Seriously we are fucked up’ Jessica had ranted between gulps of her bourbon.  
‘ok, let’s start with the vampires, it’s easier to explain, they were animal drinkers with severe tortured martyr complex, got whisked away with that and am quite happy without them, secondly, you imprinted on one of the wolves?!’ Isa had started before screaming at Jessica in shock.  
‘I thought cool, seriously ripped dude, good for a one-night stand, then I’m expected to quit my degree and stay on the reservation with them, and not leave when they get a whiff of vampire? No thank you. I’m transferring colleges, starting next year, don’t tell anyone at home, they will not find me and turn me into a stepford wife!’ Jessica nearly screamed before she collapsed onto Isa’s couch in despair.   
‘we are going to Hawaii. I’ll pull some strings, but I think you might want to meet a certain red head,’ Isa had smiled. Victoria despite her reservations about Isa, had called back a month later drunk as a skunk and nearly delirious. She had found that she could live off coconut milk and only drink blood once a month, while living a nearly human existence. Her blood lust was controlled due to the constant intake of nutrients, and the lack of blood meant that her eyes had returned to their human green colour, so with a little bit of sunscreen (Isa was shocked none of the Cullen’s had considered this over the years) and a steely determination the woman had moved to the tropical island to party it up and hadn’t left since. This ability was exclusively available to cold ones, and their own lack of blood, and could not be transferred to Stefan’s case Isa had discovered. But soon became almost friends with the woman. Victoria, still bitter at her mate’s death had decided the perfect revenge was to keep her new diet a secret from the rest of her kind, especially the Cullen’s, leaving them to torture themselves with their conscience and bloodlust, and knowing she herself could not contact the Cullen’s Isa had just shrugged and laughed, visiting the woman every now and then to rant about the woes of singledom or complain about the struggles of having a man in your life.   
Back in the present, Isa just pursed her lips in thought.  
“Stefan is still in Mystic falls, has been there for a few months now, more trouble’s brewing, after Zach he wanted to keep me out of things, but I hacked his phone. Something’s wrong though, a look alike of Kathy bitch is there. Stefan’s been trying to figure out what that means and if it spells trouble. But as you know, he’s still hard wired as a 17-year-old guy, signals are getting mixed, desire to do the right thing and help is mixing with feelings for the girl. I just hope he takes his own advice, he’s either got to turn her or leave her, there is no in between with immortality.” Isa sighed. She knew trouble had been brewing as soon as Stefan went radio silent, but she still had trouble coping with the fact that her dad was gone. Angela had no idea how to cope with her when she went Zombie, Marie thankfully just broke into her liquor stash and got her plastered enough to cry her heart out, it helped but she was still a long way to being ok. There was a month’s teaching break somewhere in her mourning period where she had come home the morning after a night of drinking, that Angela did know how to deal with. One morning she was waiting in Isa’s apartment and slapped her silly. It seemed to do the trick.  
“I’ve been toying with a little side project with Marie, we know that vampire brains are frozen developmentally, they often have difficulties reconciling their experiences with their ages on top of the everyday traumas of life. We’re trying to look at therapy for those struggling. You’ve been a sounding board for Stefan for years, got any insight?” Angela asked as they settled down on the couch.   
“Thinking about it, if we developed programs to use modern science in the vampire world we could get a lot done. I know there are some doctors out there that experiment on them for the wrong reasons, but there are so many things we could actually do to help them integrate openly into human society. With a personalised diet like I have been working on with Stefan, relying on very little human blood that was due for disposal regardless, and psychologists that can talk vampires down from violent rampages, there could be ways to open up the supernatural world.” Isa considered as she leant back in thought.  
“We’re still years away right now, but I have a feeling you have a new side project now that Victoria and Stefan have complete control over their blood lust” Angela chuckled.   
“That woman will drive me crazy one day I swear. Over the break she’s agreed to Jessica’s plan to go to Forks and introduce themselves as fiancé’s just so she can go to her godmother’s funeral. We have to go with them of course, I think half the tribe will have a heart attack” Isa smiled as she considered the antics of her friends.  
“Do you never find it weird that we are all friends with someone who wanted you dead at one point?” Angela laughed.  
“Angela, our lives are weird despite that little titbit” Isa sighed as she leant forward to grab the bottle and refill both glasses.  
“It’s Sue Clearwater, right? She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year” Angela asked as they settled into a comfortable silence.   
“Yeah, we’re all invited to a tribal ceremony the evening of the funeral” Isa explained as she fiddled with her glass, trying to remember the woman that Charlie was so close with.

After the funeral, Isa joined the tribe, though her friends decided to return, they were all staying with Charlie since both their parents had repurposed their bedrooms and Victoria knew she would not be welcome at the motel run by one of the pack members, so Isa felt a desire to stay as long as possible.  
“We’re sharing our local legends Bella if your wold like to join me” Billy called out as Isa stood by the fire with a half-drunk bottle of beer. She quietly sat down next to Billy as people started gathering.  
“let me guess, guests first?” Isa smiled as she saw faces turned towards her.  
“That is the custom, but we traditionally only ever had other tribe members join our funerary ceremonies, so don’t feel obligated to share” Billy explained gently.  
“My mother’s gypsy heritage might save you tonight Harry, she told me many stories and legends as a child don’t you worry.” Isa chuckled.  
“Well, I guess I’ll share the oldest one. Once upon a time before witches and werewolves and vampires and shapeshifters, or any other manner of creature that chose to steal from mother nature herself, mankind was spreading throughout the world, discovering her wonders, and on one unassuming day, mother nature decided she would walk among those that lived upon her as a woman, and on that day, she met the kindest soul from a peaceful tribe, on that day she conceived a child. But despite all her power, she did not think to protect her baby, imbuing it with power while it formed, so she birthed a mortal, one that was human but was also the heir to nature itself. This child grew and lived among mortals, gifted to be protected, and gifted to call upon whatever piece of the earth that they so choose to do their bidding. Of course, this child never thought to do such a thing, having the kindest soul of a peaceful tribe to guide them through the world, so that child grew, and gifted the first witch her powers, knowing that their friend would balance the world if ever they died. But they didn’t die right away, instead they had a single child, that would in turn birth only one child a generation. Each generation was blessed to see the world as it grew and tortured with mortal’s mistakes. But still, each generation would move forward, watching and occasionally participating in the wonders of man with the knowledge that good and evil forces will always be at work, moving to balance each other out, and still, mother nature endured, protecting her family, evolving as time went on, and never forgetting how one kind soul could change the world so much” Isa spoke. She and her mother were gifted with storytelling, and she saw the web being woven over the people around her. The stories her mother told were never committed to paper, some of them changed with every telling, while others remained exactly the same.   
“what was the moral of that story I wonder?” Billy asked, never truly considering the tale as anything other than a fable the flighty Renee told to Isa as a child.  
“The importance of kindness and humility despite one’s abilities or troubles. She always told me that one when I was getting too big for my breeches growing up. I was still just one in a long line that would continue to change the world long after I’m gone” Isa explained, smiling. The spell was broken when she pressed the bottle to her lips, draining the contents.   
When she returned later in the evening after becoming reasonably intoxicated, Victoria was still up, she was watching a soap opera it seemed.  
“You know some people dwindle away their immortality rereading depressing literature” Isa whispered tiredly over to her resident friendly vampire.  
“Well, I needed to stay downstairs when some of the pack members came over earlier, apparently you were far too distracted at the tribal ceremony’s story time. Your boy toy answered the phone, someone was asking for Charlie, he said he was at the funeral. I think you will be getting a rather frantic visitor over the next couple of days. I’ll make sure to make myself scarce if that happens.” Victoria filled Isa in as she sat down, failing to find the coordination to remove her shoes.   
“That can only spell trouble” Isa grunted as she succeeded with her boot.   
“It’s my treat day tomorrow, I’ll take a nice long hike into the forest. I’ll pack enough supplies. Do you think Jessica will appreciate a doggy spray gun to ward off the puppies while I’m away?” Victoria asked with a predatory gleeful smirk. Despite not being quite so volatile in the last few years, Victoria did still have a vindictive streak a mile long that half the time made Isa shudder, but the rest of the time, like now it brought a chuckle out.  
“Go for it, get her a doggy whistle as well while you’re at it” Isa replied before a cold marble finger pointed to the table in the kitchen, where there was a spray bottle and a box for a doggy whistle.  
“Leaving early then?” Isa asked, with a yawn. Jessica and Angela were sharing her old double bed, so Isa moved to pull out the sofa bed in the corner that was forgotten 99% of the time.  
The next morning, Isa was the first person up and she crawled around the kitchen to make coffee while trying to work out a knot in her back from the godawful sofa bed. Without registering what was going on, a cold hard object crashed into Isa, spilling her coffee across the kitchen floor.  
“NO Coffee!” Isa cried in a croaky morning voice.  
“Bella, thank God you’re ok. I called last night, that Jake boy said something about a funeral, I thought the worst” Alice cried, Isa only catching up to the situation half way through.  
“You’re going to have to wait for a response until after my coffee Alice. Beyond that, knock yourself out” Isa sighed as she returned slowly to the coffee maker.  
“You don’t understand Bella, Edward’s in trouble. He’s going to expose himself in Volterra, at the least he’ll be executed, and a number of innocent people will be killed” Alice exclaimed, trying to alert Isa to the dangers right now.  
“great, it’s been what nearly 4 years and no, hi Isa how have you been? What have you been up to? Straight to save a suicidal ex-boyfriend” Isa grumbled as she finally was able to sip on her morning caffeine.   
“Why are you not shocked to see me? And how are you still alive? You can tell me on the plane, but we need to get going immediately” Alice rushed on, in true Alice fashion, dragging in two bags from just outside the door.   
“Look, I was told about the call last night when I got home, presumed someone would come sniffing out the confusion, I already have a bag packed, since I don’t live here anymore and all. Yes, we will talk. And I can’t have people dying because they thought I was dead, so off to Italy we go I suppose” Isa interrupted, trying to catch up on the entirely one-sided conversation she was having with Alice.   
“You book the flights, I have a couple of calls to make myself while I pack up my bag” Isa suggested as Alice paused in shock at the exasperated tone coming from her old friend. Isa saw that Alice would need a moment, so to hide her obvious annoyance with the high intensity Cullen she drained her mug and moved to the stairs. She woke her friends up silently, gesturing for them to remain quiet before quickly changing to what Angela affectionately called her military suit, and started a call to Stefan, she knew he would alert her mother if he considered something too serious.  
“Hi Stefan, what do you do when you go suicidal?” Isa asked quickly while wrestling her feet into her black stilettos.  
“What’s going on?” Stefan questioned, alarm spiking in his voice.  
“Well, Edward thought I died, miscommunication coupled with a funeral in Forks, anyway, I now have to fly to Italy to make sure he and any surrounding witnesses don’t die, any advice? Oh yeah, plus a warning I’m going to Italy, into a very dangerous situation. I have backup don’t worry” Isa ranted quietly, hoping Alice would not try to listen in, and instead book a bloody flight.  
“Right, not happy about this, but I can’t exactly extricate myself from our current circumstances. Just get to him before he does anything stupid, knowing you’re alive might just stop him from being stupid, he sounds a tad obsessive but never mind. If you have someone else with you, get them to intercede if force is necessary. But please for the love of god keep your pendant and bag as close as possible” Stefan ordered. Though he absolutely was not happy with the turn of events, he could hear Isa’s alarmed and hurried tone.  
“Stefan, I’m a big girl now, I keep those supplies hidden in a garter belt, thank god for custom made lingerie” Isa laughed as she grabbed her weekend bag.  
“And that stuff is staying in my suitcase on the plane anyway” Isa sighed as she moved for the door.  
“Oh, and please notify mom and all the girls as to the entire situation, Vicky is currently making herself scarce” Isa finished before she hung up, waving quickly in apology to her friends who were sat up in alarm and fear over what they heard.  
“Let’s go, I have work I need to get back to, so this needs to be done as quickly as possible” Isa said as she moved for the door, Alice waiting as she clutched both bags.  
“We have the next flight out to Italy, from there it’s a long drive, but we should make it on time” Alice explained as they got to the car.  
“what the hell is going on exactly Alice?” Isa demanded as they reached the highway to the nearest airport.  
“Well, we all decided to separate for a few years, makes it harder to track. I saw a vision of a funeral, needed to clarify what was going on, but Rosalie had mentioned it over the phone to Edward. He’s been in Italy for a year or so. The Volturi wouldn’t grant him death, so he’s off to do something that would force their hand. I would have been quicker but I’ve been investigating my human life. Everyone else was laying low in New York” Alice tried to explain in a panic.  
“Alice, calm down. You won’t be any help to Edward in a panic” Isa interrupted as Alice went to continue.  
“Where exactly in New York? I live and work there” Isa asked as Alice tried to calm herself. Isa genuinely had no idea how a cold one would calm themselves seeing as there was no pulse to slow or breathing to control, but she was getting off topic.  
“Jasper’s studying philosophy at NYU, Carlisle is working the other side of the city, but Rosalie and Emmet are running a nightclub on long island” Alice explained.  
“No wonder, philosophy and science are complete opposite sides of campus. Anyway, what exactly is the plan for when we get there?” Isa asked, turning back to focus on the road when she saw that Alice was calm.   
“You’re working at the University? I thought you would still be studying” Alice interrupted, only now picking up on what Isa was saying.  
“Yeah, I’m on a research team, working on antibiotics and the like” Isa replied as she grabbed her phone, looking up a map of Volterra, trying to prepare for what was to come.  
“well, when we get there, you need to get to the clock tower at the base of the castle, Edward will be walking out there. You just have to get there before he exposes himself” Alice explained.  
“Right, he can’t read my thoughts, so he won’t see me coming. Can I just say though, that stopping him from exposing himself makes it sound like I’m stopping a flasher, not a suicidal cold one?” Isa spoke as She read the map, memorising the best route to the clock tower that Alice spoke of.  
“You know, normal people just get drunk and make poor life choices when someone dies, they don’t go suicidal exposing the supernatural.” Isa grumbled as she settled in for the ride.  
“You’ve changed Bella, you used to be so shy and sensitive” Alice commented, moving her gold eyes over the figure in the tailored pant suit next to her.  
“nah, just too lovesick to get really comfortable, don’t forget I was 17 when we met. Impressionable teenagers are slightly different to comfortable young adults” Isa explained, trying to catch a quick nap before the flight.  
“Would you have turned back then, if Edward had wanted you to?” Alice asked, clearly unfamiliar with the ground she was treading.  
“Honestly, if I was sure of my feelings for him, I would have turned, but you don’t know everything about me Alice, and I didn’t turn, so focus on what’s happening now.” Isa sighed, not awake enough to have the philosophical conversation of what ifs.

When she ran through the busy streets of Volterra, Isa was thankful for her trips to Asia, where this was considered moderate density, and clutched her pendant the entire way. There was no way she was losing it before encountering the Volturi. She practically body slammed Edward when she saw him, he barely moved a muscle, but at least she provided a shield from the crowds outside. Years ago, she would have been relieved and a little excited to encounter a shirtless Edward, but now she had more important things to worry about. Namely getting out of the sun.  
“Edward. It’s me, I’m alive now please stop being an idiot” Isa cried out as she tried to drag her ex back inside. She was helped almost immediately by a guard, who had heard the commotion as soon as she arrived.   
“Alice, hurry” Isa shouted behind her to the woman who was fast approaching.   
“You are such a self-sacrificing idiot! Suicide and exposure just because you think your ex-girlfriend is dead? You are so lucky I was in Forks at the time” Isa ranted as they were escorted through the halls to the throne room. Edward tried to hold her, but Isa was too riled up to notice or approach for that matter. Her arms were flailing to provide emphasis for her rant.  
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. You must be Bella” A man spoke from the centre throne.  
“I prefer Isa or Doctor if you must know, but yes, I am the ex-girlfriend who just had to save this idiot’s ass” Isa snapped. If cold ones could freeze any more than they were, they would have done.  
“And why is that human in the reception are? An afternoon snacks? Seems a little archaic if you ask me” Isa continued, it took a considerable amount of effort on her part to calm down.  
“Doctor?” Alice piped up, despite the long plane ride, Isa did not feel the need to fill the silence with catching up, Alice however did not get the memo and would not stop talking.  
“PhD, research fellow, I did mention it. But that is not the point, the point is to decide on what to do right now” Isa responded tersely.  
“I don’t remember you saying she was so impertinent.” Aro sniffed as he considered the woman before him.   
“Yeah, I was 17, at a new high-school, I’m now 21, things are bound to have changed” Isa interrupted, not liking the casual brush off from the person in front of her. However, she glanced around the room and remembered where she was all of a sudden and decided to remain silent for the time being, while Edward tried to weasel his way out of an execution.  
“Her blood does sing to you, it must be so hard being so close” Aro spoke up, after clasping Edward’s hand. Alice had explained the most important gifts among the Volturi.  
“Come girl” Aro ordered as soon as he was finished with Edward and his focus moved on. He held out his hand expectantly, as if he were entitled to a person’s every thought. Grasping her pendant nervously, Isa offered up her hand, knowing that he would not hear a thing from her.  
“How interesting, shall we see if she is immune to all our gifts?” Aro suggested, glee sparking in his eyes as he turned to the short child-like girl that escorted them there.  
“However, much I enjoy the scientific process, there is this thing called consent in higher functioning organisms, and I can already tell you that it won’t work” Isa interrupted as she saw the girls turn and Edward try to rush forward. Her interruption caused both men on the dais to snap their attention towards her, most others following. A strong sense of foreboding crept up on Isa as she felt all their eyes upon her, so she moved to get a water bottle from her bag to disguise her drinking of the blood she permanently kept in her pendant. She hoped they would not be able to scent the difference, but even if they had, it was too late, she had swallowed the blood that provided her protection and comfort for all of those years.  
“However delightful you are my dear, we do have our laws, so if you can’t think of a decent reason for us to turn you, it will have to be death” Aro explained with an air of nonchalance that was born from years of being served for years.  
“I only ask that it is quick and painless” Isa replied, doubt and worry creeping in as Edward and Alice were held back as one of the men approached.  
“of course. We’re not barbarians. We would however have allowed some leniency if you had shown a little respect” Aro explained as the guard grasped the sides of Bella’s head. Bella muttered her motto to herself as Aro nodded and her neck was snapped. The throne room echoed with the screams of Edward and Alice.  
“you broke the law knowing the consequences Cullen’s, I think that was punishment enough for your crimes” Aro smiled, while stroking smooth his jacket from on top of his throne. The guards filed out as they left Edward and Alice to scramble over to Isa’s corpse. The room was practically empty again by the time Isa gasped awake. Within the blink of an eye she had disappeared from their sighed before reappearing grasping the human receptionist by the throat with blood staining her face. She fed the woman her blood almost immediately. Despite her overwhelming thirst, her brain still powered through, and she remembered to save the woman that allowed her to complete her transition.  
“You really should do your fucking research” Isa gasped, trying to wipe the traces of blood off her face and onto her sleeve before grasping her bag and searching for the replacement necklace she had ready to act as her daylight jewellery that Stefan had a witch spell when they prepared her contingency package.  
“What is the meaning of this?” Aro yelled as his eyes widened in shock, Jane, the small girl was stood, half turned in the doorway as she witnessed her king nearly have an aneurism.  
“When you have a 170-year-old uncle, you tend to prepare for worst case scenarios pretty early on” Isa gasped as she stood up, her necklace finally on. It was a family heirloom. One of the last remaining pieces of jewellery Stefan had from his mother, with the family crest on it.   
“I take it the Cullen’s were not aware of this particular relative” One of the men interrupted as he noted the expression of utter shock on both their faces.  
Just as Aro was trying to decide how to proceed, Jane moved aside to allow the guards to enter with Jasper.  
“I take it you’re here to support your wife, rushing to her side as soon as possible” Isa queried as Jasper tried to move towards Alice, though he was stopped by his guards.  
“She called yesterday, I couldn’t get an earlier flight out of New York” Jasper explained.  
“Is there a reason you are wearing a Salvatore heirloom from the 1850’s Bella?” Jasper asked, taking in the situation with his militaristic precision like always.  
“It was a gift” Isa smiled, looking down at the necklace that she received as an early 18th birthday gift.  
“You mean the ripper of Monterey and his impulsive brother, that Salvatore family?” Caius shouted in alarm, recognising the name almost immediately.  
“Human descendant if you must know, but please continue” Isa responded quite cheekily as she moved to pick up her old necklace and touched the vervain, it didn’t burn curiously, but Isa was not certain whether vampirism would have different effects on her due to her protections as a human. Before the Volturi and the Cullen’s could be riled up any further, Isa’s phone rang.  
“Stefan? I thought I told you I was in Italy, I presumed radio silence would be a given” Isa spoke up after checking the caller ID.  
“This isn’t Stefan, but could you explain why your number is the last one dialled on my brother’s phone after he surrendered himself to a crazy hybrid?” A voice asked over the phone. Quite angrily. Isa shook with fear. Though she knew Damon was not the most dangerous creature out there, she had learnt to dread the day he discovered her existence.  
“I take it this is Damon” Isa wobbled as she spoke, walking towards the exit as she spoke. Jasper picked Alice up off the floor as they all watched their old friend walk away.  
“Considering I am his only brother, yes this is Damon, now why are you in my brother’s phone” Damon snapped, Isa could feel his tenuous control slipping through his fingers as he awaited a response.  
“well, you see Uncle Damon, I got myself in a bit of a pickle with some cold ones and have just completed my transition” Isa winced as she spoke, hoping the band-aid technique would be better than anything else. She knew she was safe from Damon’s reaction, but she didn’t know whether he was alone.  
“I beg your pardon?” Damon scoffed, Isa felt like she could taste his disbelief on her tongue.   
“how very restrained of you, I’m Zach’s daughter, not the point right now though. I’ve currently just transitioned in the middle of the Volturi castle in front of my ex who had no idea about my ancestry” Isa word vomited. Yeah, she really needed to regain some control over her body and quickly.  
“What are the chances of you getting back to the states any time soon?” Damon asked in alarm, the gravity of her situation starting to dawn on him.  
“I have some ideas about that, I’m booking my flight for tomorrow, right now I have to fast forward a diet plan that will enable me to travel at speed with a bunch of people in a pressurised container. I think I had a plan for this. Oh God, I need to call the girls, they will be shitting kittens. Ok, think. Feed, fly, get the girls to Mystic falls. I really don’t want to have to explain all this to Jake as well, so stay away from Forks, Oh God, why didn’t Stefan think of this?” Isa cried out in panic as she paced the doorway of the castle, no one outside noticing due to the festivities.  
“can’t you wait to panic when you get here? Stefan is missing, Klaus blackmailed him into going ripper again, and I really don’t need a baby vamp on top of that” Damon snapped.  
“Excuse me? Klaus did what? It took me a year to isolate his diet, and that fuck just wants to screw it up on a bender. I’m coming over right now” Isa yelled before hanging up the phone. It rang again almost instantly.  
“You transitioned?” Renee asked almost instantly  
“Yes, in Italy right now, flying back home, something’s going on down in Mystic falls” Bella snapped quickly before retreating back into the castle.  
Though Isa would have liked to head home alone, she had three shadows constantly badgering her for answers on the plane. Bella considered them particularly stupid for aggravating a newbie vampire but chose to keep her mouth shut until they reached the states.   
Due to her DOD ID, Bella was able to fast track her customs check and was out of the airport and in a hire car before the Cullen’s could catch up.  
“Jess, Ang. Bit of a hiccup my end. Since it’s break you guys ok to head out to Mystic falls with me? Had to transition and Stefan’s missing” Bella requested into her hands free.  
“We’re going on an adventure” Jess shouted with far too much enjoyment for Bella’s nerves, but Angela’s confirmation soothed them.  
“We don’t normally get visitors to Mystic Falls. My name’s Caroline” A blonde introduced cheerfully while Bella waited for her friends to arrive.  
“Isabella, you can call me Isa though. I’m just waiting on my friends though, then we’re going to my Dad’s place” Isa replied politely as she kept her eye on the door. She could tell the blonde was a vampire, she just wasn’t sure of her loyalties so decided it would be best to lay low.  
“Isa! Are we drinking before getting this show on the road?” Jess yelled from the doorway, followed closely by Angela.  
“One drink then we’re heading over” Isa sighed before gesturing to the bartender. They walked over drained their bourbon in one gulp and gestured for Isa to lead the way.  
“Your family home not ours” Angela shrugged as Isa raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
Isa grabbed her case from the boot when they arrived, lugging it up cautiously to the front door before barging in. she had no qualms with slamming the door of her own home. Leading her friends into the living room, Bella started setting up her computer.   
“You guys make yourself comfortable. I’m hunting down the blood supply before my throat itches.” Isa commented as she stood up.  
On her entrance back into the living room, Isa saw that her friends were joined by a crowd of people, including the blonde from the bar.  
“What the hell are you doing here?!” Caroline yelled as she spotted the final member of the trio she had just met.  
“Hello to you too. Do you guys have any idea where Stefan was heading?” Isa asked as she moved back to her computer.  
“Who are you?” a slim brunette demanded angrily as she took in the woman making herself comfortable.  
“Isa, currently your best bet on getting Stefan back in one piece. now, does anyone have an update on his location?” Isa demanded as she started plugging in search parameters into her computer while pulling up a map.  
“Katherine has an idea but we don’t know how to reach her. Who are you?” Another of the girls demanded.  
“Isabella Dwyer-Swan-Salvatore. It’s a long and complicated story. Now if any of you have any idea how to get my uncle back, please share” Isa requested politely and if anyone noticed her growing impatience they didn’t mention it.  
“I thought you just transitioned. I didn’t think you would be back from Italy so soon” Damon spoke up as he took in the group she had brought with her.  
“Well, I was in a hurry. That coupled with a clingy ex meant I hightailed it out of there. Why did this Klaus character take Stefan?” Isa asked, growing even more impatient. After a bit more digging, Isa managed to get the whole story out of them.  
“Damn. And I thought the cold ones were dramatic. No wonder Stefan was being so secretive. Could you imagine what would happen if Renee heard about this? We need to stock up on popcorn” Jess piped up as Isa worked rigorously.   
“Excuse me? Who is Renee and why the hell would she need popcorn?” The brunette from earlier demanded, her anger growing exponentially.  
“She is a siren for drama. After the Edward incident she sat Isa down with a bottle of wine and revelled in it, after of course getting over the anger of knowing her daughter was in danger. She wanted all the sordid details. I heard her wail in disappointment when she discovered Edward was a hundred-year-old virgin” Angela filled in excitedly.  
“Marie would have so many things to say about your excitement on this matter Ang. Mind you, she doesn’t really have a leg to stand on after Alaric” Isa commented as she glanced briefly up from her computer with a slight smile.  
“I think you need to fill us in as well please” The darker girls requested politely. Out of all the teenagers she did seem the most level headed.  
“Dated a cold one in high school. So many issues there. He was so repressed I wouldn’t be surprised if you found diamonds up his ass. Anyway, he recently thought I had died and went to their leaders to off himself, was there to prevent that cluster fuck. Had to transition before the Volturi executed or changed me. I do not feel like days of agonising pain thank you. I’m Zach’s daughter. Had me in high school. We tend to keep it on the down low so that exactly this situation occurs.” Isa briefed them.   
“By the way, did Victoria not join you?” Isa interrupted herself to turn on her friends.  
“Oh. She’s collecting Marie” Jess grinned devilishly. Everyone was looking at Jess at this point that they jumped when they heard Isa’s head connect with the table.  
“All hands-on deck it seems” Isa grumbled.  
It only took Isa a few days to find Stefan, and inadvertently Klaus’ current location, and by that time Victoria and Marie had joined them. It was early morning and only Damon from the Mystic falls gang was there.  
“I got this” Isa sighed before picking up her phone.  
“Are you fucking nuts? If you alert them, you’ll bring the hybrid down on our asses. Not to mention the fact he doesn’t know Elena’s alive” Damon yelled in anger, trying to snatch the phone from her grasp. She was unusually quick though, even for a warm vampire. The phone was held just out of reach.  
“Think with your head and not your dick Damon. Klaus is killing too many people right now. If we can get him focused on us fewer people die, and if I can talk some sense into that thick skull we should be fine. Including Elena. Grab a go bag just in case.” Isa spoke, staring down the man before her as she dialled the number for the hotel they were staying in for the night. It did not take long for her to get through to their rooms.  
“Who are you and what do you want?” A voice growled over the phone. On hearing the voice, Damon sprung to action.  
“If it was Stefan is one thing. You are not getting involved in the mess with the Hybrid” Damon snapped as he held the phone, yelling at his newly discovered niece. Victoria grabbed his arm however, a move he was not anticipating, so the phone was swiftly returned to Isa’s hand.  
“I presume you just heard that altercation” Isa spoke up, returning the phone to her ear.  
“Yes. It gets even more interesting the more I hear. Now who are you and how do you know Damon Salvatore? I presume he didn’t just grab anyone to help him save his brother” The voice drawled. Isa shivered slightly at the tone, it was a really attractive voice.  
“No, he didn’t. That is not the point though. My name is Isabella, and I am calling you to tell you that you’re being stupid. Come back to Mystic falls and we might be able to solve your hybrid problems. You’re just wasting lives by trying the same old tricks hoping for a different result. We’ll meet you at the grill when you get back” Isa stated before hanging up the phone.  
“What the hell are you thinking? You’re about to get us all killed” Damon yelled as soon as he was able.  
“Relax. Sure, Klaus will show up, but Stefan isn’t stupid, he probably has a plan in the pipe works. He’ll fill us in somehow when they get back. Beyond that, vervain in the water supply should do the trick. Warn Caroline and Elena. We need to prepare for a new arrival” Isa explained calmly as she stood up.  
“You are aware that you are certifiable sometimes Isa? Come on I’m hungry and we haven’t left this house in days. Let’s go to the grill” Marie whined as she pulled on Isa’s arm.  
Isa was able to enjoy herself in the few days that they had to wait. She was adjusting smoothly to her vampirism.  
“They’re probably going to arrive today. Once Klaus has settled in we’re going to dinner, explaining a few things. While he’s settling down I talk with Stefan. If he’s turned off his humanity we need him to turn it back on and working rationally. I’ll get him back on his diet as soon as possible as well” Isa listed as Damon joined them, carrying only a glass of bourbon.  
“his diet?” Damon asked warily. As he eyed her up and down.  
“Oh, we’ve been working on it for years. Really have it down now. We’ve been testing different ratios of blood, how hungry he gets, what his body needs. I specialise in pathology most of the time. Stefan agreed to let me help him with his thirst ages ago. Victoria too. She lives it up in Hawaii most of the time. You can barely tell she’s a cold one by looking at her” Isa smiled as she turned to her now very close friend.  
“What can I say? You were gutsy. That and the fact you didn’t pin me to a table with needles” Victoria grinned in response. Damon looked her over in alarm before turning angrily on Isa/  
“You’ve been experimenting on us?” Damon growled lowly.  
“Hardly. I asked Stefan for a blood sample to study when I was like 10. Since then I’ve analysed it and made suggestions for Stefan’s diet. He was never under any obligation and I never do anything without discussing it thoroughly first. That and I’ve never don’t anything invasive. Usually just food adjustments. There was this one time in Tibet that I challenged him to pick up the biggest rock he could to test the limits of vampire strength. That just became a matter of pride though” Isa explained, smiling fondly at the memories. Damon seemed to settle down a bit after this, though the tension did not leave him.  
“Please Isa. Because of you I have been able to re-enter society. After this trip I’m going straight back to running my bar back home. Beaches and men all day. My life is set” Victoria sighed dreamily.  
“She gets like that sometimes. Jess once commented in jest that she should visit the succubus sisters to see if she really does need sex as much as blood” Ang laughed when Damon eyed the red head quizzically.  
“Yeah, and she does. It’s crazy” Jess added on as Victoria sat back up again.  
“Most cold ones have a higher sex drive. Don’t judge me for it. Edward was the exception to the rule. I bet the other Cullen’s got really freaky on the down low” Victoria grumbled.  
“Oh, they weren’t as subtle as they thought. Rosalie and Emmett weren’t known for being quiet. It irritated Edward to no end. He’d rush me and my virgin ears out of the house so quickly” Isa laughed, near hysterics at the thought. Ang Jess Marie and Victoria chuckled along with her, trying and failing to keep it in.  
“That and, Alice and Jasper would go for far too many hunts. I don’t think Edward noticed that Jasper’s eyes remained the same, and their clothes were far too rumpled afterwards. Don’t even get me started on Carlisle and Esme. I’m pretty sure she only visited him at work was to fit in a quickie. Don’t tell Edward that though. I don’t think his brain would cope” Isa continued on, laughing.  
“I take it you weren’t the virgin he thought you were then?” Damon drawled in response, picking up his glass this time as he watched his niece relax for the first time since meeting her.  
“Please. I’d been at University for years by the time I moved to Forks. I may have only had sex a few months before arriving there, but I was no blushing innocent before that. Early exposure to positive attitudes to sex can work wonders on a woman’s mental health” Isa replied. Sarcasm flowing freely.  
“And what pray tell is the topic of discussion here at such a happy table?” A familiar voice asked off to the side.  
“Just my niece’s weird sex life” Damon grumbled reluctantly into his glass. Isa turned around quickly to face the new arrivals.  
“Stefan!” She yelled before leaping onto him and enveloping him in a hug. He didn’t know at first what to do as she clung to him, but slowly moved his arms to reciprocate as he felt her body heat against him.  
“It’s good to see you again Isa. What are you doing here though?” Stefan sighed, realisation and alarm entering his tone almost immediately.  
“Well, shit got complicated in Italy then that tool called me. I had to rush over” Isa breathed out as she was lowered back to the ground.  
“How sweet. However, we are here for a reason, so perhaps you might start explaining yourself.” The voice growled from the side. Taking in the man Isa now knows is Klaus, she settled down and moved to sit, inviting the new arrivals to join her with a gesture.  
“Nothing is going to get solved today. I said I’d figure your problem out, not that I knew what to do right away. To get started, we need to set up some ground rules” Isa explained as she waved a waiter over to order food.  
“First we eat though” Angela interrupted as she spotted the waiter coming over with the menus.  
“We don’t exactly have time for lunch” Klaus bit out impatiently.  
“Actually, we do. You’ve waited long enough, you can wait a bit longer and Angela and Jess are hungry” Isa snapped back as the waiter arrived.   
“I’ll just have bourbon” Victoria spoke after all the orders were taken.  
“Any who. As I was saying. Tomorrow I will sit down with you, learn all I can about the curse, about how you’ve been trying to create hybrids, and your first shift as well, then I’ll hit the books. I have a couple months leave so I should be able to come up with a working theory before I have to get back to New York. However, the ground rules need to be decided first. One, no trying to create more hybrids until I’ve figured this out. Two, while here eat sustainably. If the hospital gets suspicious, I can get more blood bags in from a colleague. Three, no retaliation for past actions. You may be pissed at each other trying to kill everyone, but I don’t want my home town becoming a blood bath” Isa listed succinctly as their drinks arrived.   
“Seems reasonable” Klaus replied after a short pause of hesitation.  
“Oh, another thing, you have to gain the consent of any werewolves you would like to make into hybrids. It’s an ethics thing you see. I don’t particularly want to cross the line to mad scientist” Isa added.  
“What makes you think I’d agree to that?” Klaus growled, near fuming.  
“Well, it is sort of sensible as well. You want hybrids, they’re going to turn on you eventually if you’re forcing vampirism on them. Perhaps if you rally for willing support you won’t have difficulties down the track” Isa replied. Though she didn’t necessarily agree with creating hybrids, she could understand where Klaus was coming from, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop him completely. Therefore, she was going to do what she could by pointing him towards a middle ground that she could stomach at least.  
“Fair enough” Klaus replied shortly. Though he didn’t want to follow these rules, they were logical.  
“Now. We’re going to have a dinner this evening to discuss this in further detail away from prying eyes. Do you have a place in mind?” Isa asked, finishing up the discussion as the food arrived.  
“I have accommodation outside of town. We can meet there. Enjoy your day” Klaus snapped, his chair close to toppling over as he stood abruptly. He left shortly afterwards.  
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at Isa? He could kill you” Stefan demanded furiously once he knew Klaus was out of hearing range.  
“What I’m playing at is trusting you. I know you have a plan in the works. Think of it as an insurance policy. I wanted to quickly and efficiently stop his murder spree. Now, I can see your humanity is back on, how is your diet?” Isa asked, shifting her cutlery in slight discomfort as Stefan stared her down.  
“Didn’t break it unless under compulsion. I’ll be careful now I’m back” Stefan sighed. Noting the stubborn set to her posture, he knew Isa wouldn’t back down and probably had something up her sleeve.  
“I have something important to him stashed away. I was thinking of using them to force him to back down.


End file.
